France halts Sivens dam construction after protester’s death: Council suspends work on contentious project in south-west Tarn region after Rémi Fraisse died during clashes with police

By Agence France-Presse in Paris - The Guardian, October 31, 2014

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French local authorities have decided to suspend work on a controversial dam after the death last week of an activist protesting against the project.

The executive council in charge of the project in the south-western Tarn region decided to freeze work on the dam but did not definitively scrap it.

It was impossible in the light of the tragedy to continue any work at the site of the Sivens dam project, said Thierry Carcenac, head of the region’s executive council. “What happened was terrible and should never happen again,” he added.

Remi Fraisse, 21, died in the early hours of Sunday during violent clashes between security forces and protesters against the project. It was the first death during a protest in mainland France since 1986.

Initial investigations showed traces of TNT on his clothes and skin, suggesting he may have been killed by a police stun grenade.

France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, who has come under fire over the incident, has since banned the use of the grenades, which are designed to stun rather than kill.

The already unpopular government of President François Hollande has come under more pressure over a perceived slow response to the death, as well as allegations that police mishandled the riots.

The death has been followed by renewed clashes. Overnight on Thursday, 200 protesters rampaged through the western city of Rennes, with some overturning cars and breaking shop windows. Further protests are planned throughout the weekend and authorities are bracing for further unrest.

Ecology minister Ségolène Royal will next week gather together all warring parties to discuss the future of the Sivens dam.

Those opposed to the project say the dam will destroy a reservoir of biodiversity and will only benefit a small number of farmers. Those promoting the project, meanwhile, retort that the dam is in the public interest as it will ensure irrigation and the development of high-value crops.